[polishgenius]

I Am Brian Blessed Not Brent Weeks, on 25 June 2014 - 09:20 PM, said:

Read Adamantine Palace - took too long to get going in my opinion - liked the idea, just a bit too slowly paced. May or may not return to the series, (might burn through the Thief-takers trilogy and base my decision on reading any more of his stuff on that)

Ha. This was the absolute opposite of my opinion. I found everything happens way too quickly and the book could have done with being at least a third longer.

[Morgoth]

So have any of you guys read Gary Gibson's sci fi? I've had Angel Stations layign about for a while, but never gotten around to Reading the thing.

[Obdigore]

Anyone get 'A Shadow in Summer' (Daniel Abraham) on your Kindle and have massive problems with it missing/skipping pages?

I'm still in the first chapter and I've got either out of order pages or just missing pages 4 times now. I guess I figured out why I didn't remember ever reading this book...

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

Morgoth, on 26 June 2014 - 07:06 AM, said:

So have any of you guys read Gary Gibson's sci fi? I've had Angel Stations layign about for a while, but never gotten around to Reading the thing.

Read and LOVED Stealing Light. Haven't read anything else, only because my TRP is already so huge. A bunch of his books are on kindle at ~ $5 or so.

[Serenity]

Can anyone here recommend (or otherwise!) the 'Destroyermen' series by Taylor Anderson?

[Andorion]

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

Can anyone here recommend (or otherwise!) the 'Destroyermen' series by Taylor Anderson?

Read this series, but not entirely. The first three books. The premise is interesting, but its recommended only if you have an interest in military fiction. A little background knowledge of WW2 helps. I really liked the first book, and the next two were ok, but a few elements were putting me off a bit. I recommend you try the first book and decide from there. Writing is good, no specific complaints there.

Note: I have deliberately refrained from any plot details to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, as to me much of the appeal of the first book was the sense of wonder and exploration it evoked. If you want details, just post and I will be happy to oblige.

[Serenity]

Andorion, on 16 September 2014 - 01:22 PM, said:

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

Can anyone here recommend (or otherwise!) the 'Destroyermen' series by Taylor Anderson?

Read this series, but not entirely. The first three books. The premise is interesting, but its recommended only if you have an interest in military fiction. A little background knowledge of WW2 helps. I really liked the first book, and the next two were ok, but a few elements were putting me off a bit. I recommend you try the first book and decide from there. Writing is good, no specific complaints there.

Note: I have deliberately refrained from any plot details to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, as to me much of the appeal of the first book was the sense of wonder and exploration it evoked. If you want details, just post and I will be happy to oblige.

Thank you

I'm fine without plot details (I've read the blurb on the back of the book), it was more a case of wanting to know if they were any good before I contemplate getting the first one

[Andorion]

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 01:57 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 September 2014 - 01:22 PM, said:

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

Can anyone here recommend (or otherwise!) the 'Destroyermen' series by Taylor Anderson?

Read this series, but not entirely. The first three books. The premise is interesting, but its recommended only if you have an interest in military fiction. A little background knowledge of WW2 helps. I really liked the first book, and the next two were ok, but a few elements were putting me off a bit. I recommend you try the first book and decide from there. Writing is good, no specific complaints there.

Note: I have deliberately refrained from any plot details to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, as to me much of the appeal of the first book was the sense of wonder and exploration it evoked. If you want details, just post and I will be happy to oblige.

Thank you

I'm fine without plot details (I've read the blurb on the back of the book), it was more a case of wanting to know if they were any good before I contemplate getting the first one

Don't buy them together. Read the first book. I am a bit leery of recommending this series usually as I don't think it will appeal to a lot of people, but if you are into it, the first three are worth your time at least.

[Serenity]

Andorion, on 16 September 2014 - 02:17 PM, said:

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 01:57 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 September 2014 - 01:22 PM, said:

Serenity, on 16 September 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

Can anyone here recommend (or otherwise!) the 'Destroyermen' series by Taylor Anderson?

Read this series, but not entirely. The first three books. The premise is interesting, but its recommended only if you have an interest in military fiction. A little background knowledge of WW2 helps. I really liked the first book, and the next two were ok, but a few elements were putting me off a bit. I recommend you try the first book and decide from there. Writing is good, no specific complaints there.

Note: I have deliberately refrained from any plot details to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, as to me much of the appeal of the first book was the sense of wonder and exploration it evoked. If you want details, just post and I will be happy to oblige.

Thank you

I'm fine without plot details (I've read the blurb on the back of the book), it was more a case of wanting to know if they were any good before I contemplate getting the first one

Don't buy them together.

Oh no fear on that score - I always buy one to try before diving in headfirst

[Andorion]

The Age of Discovery Series by Michael Stackpole. Starts with A Secret Atlas and runs for two more books Cartomancy and The New World. A friend asked about this series. She basically wants to read exploration and discovery set in fantasy but except for Paul Kearney and apparently this series I couldn't think of anything.

[amphibian]

Mason and Dixon by Pynchon uses exploration and discovery as a plot motivation, as do the Liveship Traders and Rainwild Chronicles by Robin Hobb.

Nation by Terry Pratchett is a one shot novel that looks at Pacific Islands exploration.

In science fiction, that's a much greater field to look within.

[polishgenius]

Andorion, on 22 September 2014 - 01:23 AM, said:

The Age of Discovery Series by Michael Stackpole. Starts with A Secret Atlas and runs for two more books Cartomancy and The New World. A friend asked about this series. She basically wants to read exploration and discovery set in fantasy but except for Paul Kearney and apparently this series I couldn't think of anything.

I've read The Secret Atlas, it's a lot of fun. I bought the second but for some reason never got round to it, I'll have to give the series another try when I can (it's not with me right now...).

I also second the recommendation of Nation, it's a brilliant book too.

[D'iversify]

Bit out there, but Umberto Eco's Baudolino is pretty fantastical and is all about weird maps and unknown lands. Then again, it's Eco, so it's pretty wordy (both length and lingo) and pretty odd.

[Andorion]

So, I am taking Secret Atlas as recommended. Pratchetts Nation is brilliant. One of the best books I read in the last two years. Not sure about Umberto Eco. Don't know much about him. As for Robin Hobb....... I know there is a lot of love for Robin Hobb on this site, but personally I don't get her writing. I started the Fitz books, got through two and a half and simply had to quit because nobody ever seemed to do anything at all. So I am hesitant to recommend Hobb to others, though I admit to not having read the Rainwild Chronicles or Liveship Traders. I absolutely loved one short story of Hobb though which appeared in a fantasy anthology, it was about a bunch of families getting banished to the Rainwilds, their attempts to set up a colony, their discovery of hidden stuff etc. That short story (more like a novelette) was awesome.

As for sci-fi, I know. Exploration is one of the staples of sci-fi, its just that I would love to read exploration on a fantasy landscape.

Incidentally does anyone know anything about Robert Reddick and his books (I think 4 so far) about a giant ship? I think the first was called Red Wolf Conspiracy. Is there exploration in it?

[polishgenius]

Oh yeah, those are a good shout. Really like that series too.

The exploration isn't really on purpose, but it's definitely there.

[D'iversify]

Andorion, on 23 September 2014 - 02:59 AM, said:

Not sure about Umberto Eco. Don't know much about him.

He's an Italian academic most known for his contributions to the field of semiotics but who has also written several best selling novels, the most well known of which is The Name of the Rose, a medieval murder mystery set in a monastery which was filmed in 1986 with Sean Connery as the lead. Suffice to say that most of his writing is fairly dense and reference heavy (it usually helps to know something about Aristotle or the history of the Knight's Templar), and is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. But he constructs a very detailed literary landscape and has quite a wry sense of humour. Baudolino is basically the tale of a medieval knight who claims to have travelled to the mysterious East (as imagined by medieval Europeans - populated by all sorts of weird monsters and peoples) in search of the legendary King Prester John and the Earthly Paradise.

[Andorion]

I know something about the medieval search for Prester John, so I might take a look at this later.

[Puck]

Umberto Eco is great. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I just wanted to make sure the point is driven home that he is.

..aaand now I want to read Eco. Luckily, I think I should have The Prague Cemetery stashed away unread somewhere.

This post has been edited by Puck: 25 September 2014 - 07:41 AM

[Andorion]

Has anybody read Rick Yancey? His first book is "Monstrumologist"

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

I did not care for Monstrumologist. For a YA book, it had a build-up that was way too slow and boring, and none of the characters were likable. Having said that, I do have The 5th Wave wishlisted, because I find the premise so interesting.